Cash register



Aug. 6, 1940.

H. STROTMANN v TER Filed oct. 27, 1938 3 S eeee s-Sheet l Aug. 6, 1940. H. sTRoTMANN CASH REGISTER Filed 001'.. 27, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 H. STROTMANN CASH REGISTER Aug. 6, 1940.

Filed Oct. 27, 1938l 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Aug. 6, 1940 PATENT OFFICE `casu REGISTER Hugo Strotmann, Berlin-Grunewald, Germany \Application October 27, 1938, Serial No. 237,347

.- In Germany October 28, 1937 z claims. .(cl. sai-fc4.)`

This invention relates to aynovel cash register. Itis an object of my invention to provide a sirple and reliable' system of recording the sales and the sums received without the necessity fork .the operator of depressing any number keys.

Another object of my invention is to provide automatic means for recording in a' simple and reliable manner all the data marked on a sales note or cardk attached to the sales article and handed to the buyer after its passage through vthe cash register. A

Still another object of my invention is to provide means for printing or punching any desired marks on the card in the recording operation.

Still a further object of Amy invention is to provide means for cutting off one section of the sales card for handing it to the buyer while with, holding the rest of the card in the cash register.

With these and other objects in view, as may become apparent .from the following disclosures, the invention consists not only inthe structures herein pointed out and illustrated by the drawings, but includes further structures as hereinafter may be claimed.

The character of the invention, however, may

be best understood by reference to certain of its structural forms, as illustrated by the accom-z panying drawings in `which-- Fig. l is` an isometric view, viewed from the standpoint ofjthe operator, of a cash register having the invention applied thereto.

Fig. `2 is a fragmentary section on-the plane A-B, (f1-D` of Fig. 1, and on the line II--II of Fig. 5,'with the ejectordevice in a position before the ejecting operation-^ H Fig. 2a is detail of Fig;j 2, on a larger scale and in a section on line IIaf-IIa in' Fig. 3. K

Fig. 3 is a top viewof the same cash register, with the casing 5 removed /and various driving parts being omitted. Y

Fig. 4- is a fragmentary section on line' IV'-IV of Fig. 3, on a larger scale. n y

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectionon line V-V of 2, viewed in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. v5a is a detail of Fig. 5, on a larger scale. Fig. 6 is a circuit diagram.

Similar reference' numerals denote similar 'parts in the different iigures. f'

Referring now to the drawings in greater detail, and'rst to Fig. 1, it will be seen that the cash register is built into a table comprising the table plate I, the side walls 2 andv3 and the cash boardid.. The various devices forming together the cash register are accommodated withinthe idle roller 22.

. casing 5 and in the space behind the door 5, below the casing 5.

Item 'i is the inlet\slot for the sales card or slip and 8 is the discharge chute. The plug socket for the current supply is indicated at 3 and l0 is a pushy button for operating the cash register.

The various devices in the cash register will :now be described with reference to Figs. 2 to 5.

Referring to Fig. 2, a shaft I8 is driven from the shaft i5 of an electric motor I I mounted on a plate 55, through a bevel gear i6, a shaft lla and a chain drive il. Through a further chain drive il@ there is driven from shaft Wa a shaft 2G which by means of its roller 2i drives an endless conn veyer belt 23 running over roller 2i and over an The shafts Maand it and the shaft of the idle roller 22 are rotatably mounted in the side walls 5t and 59 of the cash register.

As shown best in Fig. 4, the endless belt 23 ad- 'jacent to its iet hand edge carries two, clips or clamping springsv 2d serving to attach the sales card 25 to the belt 23. Moreover the right hand edge of the sales card 25 is guided in a slot 26 of the side wall 59 of the cash register.-

An embossing or printing device il (Fig. 2),l comprising the two number rollers 2id., 2lb and driven from the shaft 2li by a belt drive 2l is arranged adjacent to the lower face ofthe upper side of the belt 23' in an operative position with respect to the sales card attached to the belt. The shafts of the number rollers 21a, 2lb are also supported in bearings mounted on Athe side wall 56 `of the cash register.

As best seen in Fig. 5, in connection with Fig.

A2, a rest 33 is provided for the sales card in cooperation with a depressing member 34 which is guided by means `of a projection in a bore of a lever 36 pivoted at 31, and acted upon by said lever through a pressure spring 36a. A cam 38 on shaft i8 is capable of depressing the lever 36, against action of a spring 58. The pressure exerted upon the sales card by the member 34 is so ratedthat the sales card 25 is disengaged from the clips 24 on the travelling belt 23.

Provided on the shaft I8 (Fig. 5) is also a cam '40 acting upon a knife 4 l, which is pivoted at Ha (Figs. 2 and 5) and toothed at its cutting edge to produce ay toothed cut in co-operation with the up'per right hand edge of the rest 33. Flanges 40 of the camdll form a. lateral guidance for the knife.

The endless belt 23 is provided with a projec- `tion 3| (Figs. 2 and 2a) which passes through an edge groove 33' of the rest 33 (Fig. 5a) and is l capable of engaging an ejector bar 32 guided be- 1 0 system 39a is mounted on the plate 55 in the'position shown in Fig. 2, adjacent to a photographic camera I 4, having an objective lens 65 focussed upon the section 25' of the sales card in the free spaceGI to the right of the rest 33 in Fig. 5. The camera I4 is of the type having a lm feeding device operated by a step by step switching mechanism that is automatically operated and advanced through one step by each operation of the shutter.

90 being operated electromagnetically. Cameras of this type are known per se and available on the market and, therefore, need not be described in detail.

The circuit diagram will now be described with '25 reference to Fig. 6 in connection with Fig. 2. A

switch Illa, Ia. operatedv by the push button I0 serves to switch in the bulb 39 and the'motor II. Thus, the shaft I5 of ,said motor through the bevel gear I6 drives the shaftCI1a on which cams 30 41 and 48 having projections 5I and 53 for actuation of automatic switches 49 or 45ll,`respectively, are mounted. It will be understood that the cams are coaxially mounted on shaft I1a although they areshown in Fig. 6 as arranged on parallel shafts.

as The switch 49 when-closed under action of a spring 62 during the period'where it is not engagedby projection 5I, shunts' the switch Illa while the switch `5Il acted upon a spring 63 serves to energize an electromagnetic shutter (not '.40 shown) in the camera I4.

`The operation of my novel kcash register will. 'now be described.-

The cashier receiving from the buyer the sales card 25 and a sum for-payment of the amount 45 indicated on the sales card introduces the sales 50 mark of the firm so that'it can be handed ,f

card into the slot 1 and depresses the push button I 0. After a very short time the sales card will be discharged at 8, provided with the note Paid and a current number and, if desired, the tradeto fthe buyer together witlrthe change. During the passage of the sales card from point 1 to point 8, the following operations take place: When the sales note which preferably is in the form of a`- 55 somewhat rigid card is inserted at 1 for engagement with the groove 25, and under the clips 24,

(Figs. 3 and 4), the switchl Illa is closed by de ypression of push button I8, against action of a` spring 52, and the motor II is thus energized from the source of current, 9, whereby the endless belt 23 is driven, through the driving parts I5, I6', I1'a, .I9, 20, 2I and the card 25 is carried,

from the initial position 'shown in dotted lines (Fig. 2) past the printing orfembossingidevice 21, 65 21a, 211), where the word Paid', a current num-A- ber/o1`dateand, if `desired a trade-mark are printed'or embossed on the card 25', tothe end position on rest 33, shown in Fig. 2 in slid lines,

Now the member -34 is depressed, by action of the 70 controllingV and driving parts I5.' I 6, I1a, I1, I8,

38, 35, whereby the 4card 25 is retained in its end position on rest 33 and cleared by the clips 24.

When the card 25 has Lreached this end position, the switch 58 is closed by the projection 53 The 'shutter in turn is capable of 65 of the camera I4 is opened whereby the section 25 of the card in the free space 6I to the right of the rest 33 (Fig. 5) isphotographed on the lm inthe camera, through the transparent chute 44.

The shutter is then automatically closed and the lm in the `camera is automatically \advanced through one step, by a'step by step switching system of any suitable known construction. 'I'he said switchingsystem may be driven electrically or by a clockwork in the camera that may be wound up each time a new iilm is inserted.

Immediately after the lm strip has been exposed, the knife 4I1 is swung down, thro ugh the driving parts I8, 48, against action of the tension spring 42 (Fig. 2), and thev section 25' is separated from the section 25 of the card, a toothed cut being provided at the card 25 whereby it is shown that the same has actually passed the respective cash register. The shape of the teeth may be varied to distinguish different cash registers. The sections 25 will fall down into the chute 44 and are collected in the chamber 45. During the travelling of the belt 23, the ejector bar 32, by the projection 3I of thebelt, has been moved t its extreme right hand position, against action of the tension spring 30 (Fi'g. .2); now,`as the projection 3I travels on and clears the edge of the ejector bar 32, the same is moved in a left hand direction (Fig. 2), by action of spring 30,

whereby the rest of the card 25 that has not been photographed is ejected in a lefthand direction so that it falls into the inclined chute. 8 through which it is discharged. A- spring 46 servesv.to guide the sales card into the chute 8.

When vthe clips 24 have reachedtheir initial position shown` in Fig. 2 in dotted lines, the projection` 5I of cam 41 opens Athe switch y49 whereby the motor and the bulb 39 are switched oif and the switch 50 for the shutter of the cam- It will be understood thatwhile-the single steps `have been described at length, the whole lpas- 'consist of a transparent slip signed by the operator. f

By way of alternative, the switch Illia may be" operated automatically by the sales card entering the slot 1, so as to render.y the operation .of

push button I8 unnecessary.. To thisend, 'the switch I Ila may be provided in the form of a contact .spring at slot 1 'asindicated in dot .and dash lines in Fig. 3 for actuation by the sales card 25 which will press the spring into the posi' tion indicated in dotted lines, so as to contact the point Illa' which corresponds to the -point IIIa in Fig. 6. It will be clear that this alternative lautomatic switcl'i arrangementis shown purely schematically and mayebe constructed' in any other suitable manner, as will readily occur to one skilled in the-art. I

Irwin thus be derstooa that mynovelcash register will au matically mark the sales card by printing or punching, take a photographic copypf the sales card or of a' desired section v is collected separately at 45 and eject the remain- '"5 of cam 48 and the shutter of the objective device ing'section of the card. In this manner, a. double thereof. cut oi a section 25 from the cardwhich check or control is obtained and two dierent departments may be given notice of the sale at the same time, by the sections collected at 4l and by the iilm in the camera which, oi' course, at

any desired intervals is taken out of the camera, replaced by a new film and developed, i. e., daily, hourly, or after its end has been reached. An alarm signal (not shown) may be provided for actuation when the illm end has been reached or Aan automatic relay switch as indicated at N in Fig. 6 may switch of! the whole cash register when the electromagnetic step byfstep switching system in the camera cannot operate for this reason. To this end, the coil oi' the switch is energized from a sourceof current 69, through conductors 61 and 6l which are automatically short circuited in `the camera as the step-bystep switching system' reached its end position, by devices which are described, for instance, in the U. S. Letters Patent 1,806,763 and, therefore. are not shown here. In the energized condition of the coil the contact arm M is attracted by the coil and disengages the contact u'. whereby the circuit is opened and the cash register put out of operation for rewinding of the step by step switching mechanism and insertion oi' a fresh nlm. Where an ala'rm/ signal is used, the same may be provided in the form of a bell or buzzer connected across the conductors l1, asindicated at I0 in Fig. 6. y

My novel cash register is particularly suitable in connection with sales cards oi' the kind attached to the sales article and indicating, for instance, the selling price, stock number, purchase price (in cyphers), number of the packing table,

number of the sales force, date oi' receipt of thel article, number of maker etc. All the statements on the sales card, or on the respective section of the sales card, willbe copied automatically without any errorbeing possible and without requirv ing any attention by the cashier.

It is also contemplated, within the purview of.

. my invention, to photograph substantially the whole sales card instead of the section 25 only. To this end, the rest 3 3 may be formed with a gate, as indicated in Fig. 5 in dot and dash lines, and a transparent plate 33a may be provided in this gate, also as indicated in Fig. 5 in dot and dash lines.' v 'v According to a further modiilcation, the cash register may be constructed so that .the-whole cardmaybe discharged through either of the chutes l or M without being cut into two pieces. To this end, the parts 3l and M 'may be made quite narrow, so as to hold the card in position only and to clear it from the clips 24.' 'I'he knife device Il, 4l may be omitted in this case and the cam II may be shaped and adjusted to allow raising oi' the depressing member Il immediately after exposure of the nlm, so that the card 2l will be allowed to fall down into a suitable chute (Il or I) over which it will be discharged for being handed yto the buyer. In this case, the

parts Il, Il, I2, lla and 42 for ejectiug the section 2i of the card clamped between 33 and u may also be omitted.

While the invention has been described with reference to speciiic constructional details it will be appreciated that changes may be made therein. Such modications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the inven tion as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim: Y

1. In a cash register, an inlet for sales notes. an outlet torA said sales notes, belt conveyer means between inlet and outlet for carrying said sales notes from the inlet to the outlet end of the belt conveyer, means for attaching each sales note to the belt conveyer at its inlet end, means for arresting the sales note at the outlet end o! the belt conveyer i'or disengagement of said attaching means, a self-feeding photographic lm camera directed and focussed to the arrested sales note, means for automatically operating the shutter of said camera as the sales note is arrested, spring-acted ejector means, a projection on saidbelt adapted to engage said ejector means for loading said ejector spring and positioned to clear said ejector means after the photographing operation for permitting .thedischarge oi' said sales note under the released spring action, and means for discharging said sales note after the photographing operation.l v

2. In a cash register, an admission gate fo sales notes, a discharge for said sales notes, an endless belt for conveying each sales note from the admission gate to the discharge, at least one clip at said belt for attaching the sales note to the belt, means for' automatically marking said sales note during its passage through the cash register, a photographic camera directed and focussed to a point in the travelling path of the marked face of said sales note, a source of light adapted to illuminate said point, means for setting said conveying means in operation, means tor switching in said source' of light. means for retaining -said sales note at said point while said clip clears said sales note and travels back to its initial position, and automatic means for operating said shutter when the sales note has reached said point.

' HUGO STRO'IMANN. 

